Adapt or Die
By Jay Evans
May 3, 2019
The draft is over. The offseason enters a quiet period. The Redskins roster is essentially finalized. Jay Gruden is firmly in the definitive year of his coaching career and if he doesn’t become more creative Jay will be working somewhere else, likely for his brother, next year.
The task for Jay Gruden got more difficult than in any previous year. Dwayne Haskins will be the starting quarterback of the 2020 season. How Jay Gruden develops this offense, specifically the rookie quarterback, and adapts to the talent at his disposal will determine if he gets to be Haskins’ coach going forward.
Jay may have preferred other quarterbacks in the draft or wanted other positions addressed for the 2019 season; if so, that’s moot now. Gruden didn’t get his wish. He got a quarterback who has only started 14 games, and about whom numerous questions abound, including whether Haskins throw with anticipation and how long will it take to clean up his mechanical fundamentals.
For reasons of self-preservation, regardless of who was going to start at quarterback, Jay let it be known the expectations would be to win right away. The “powers at be” gifted him a high-upside, sturdy pocket passer, whether he preferred the rookie quarterback or not. Haskins, in a small sample size, displayed franchise-type capabilities, but is far from a finished project. Now, Jay’s task has to be navigating with great poise the balance of winning now and developing for the future. To do both with very little security is near impossible.
Gruden’s blessings were answered after the first pick of the draft. The Redskins traded back into the first round and selected an impact speed rusher, Montez Sweat, with the 26th overall pick. Sweat is a long, lean pass rusher on defense with extreme athleticism and is the only rookie drafted in the 2019 draft who has an open path to making an immediate impact. As the starting outside linebacker opposite Ryan Kerrigan, Sweat should be one of the odds leaders for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
After adding both a quarterback and pass rusher in the first round the Redskins went about the rest of the draft attempting to fill needs throughout the roster. They specifically focused on adding speed to the offensive skill positions, depth on the offensive line and strengthening the special team’s unit.
In round three the Redskins added Terry McLaurin of Ohio State, a 4.3 speedy wide receiver regarded as the best special team player in the draft, and who was on the opposite end of eleven Dwayne Haskins’ touchdowns last year. Drafting Terry (emitting an audible clap from me and many others) is an attempt to infuse speed into the offense and significantly upgrade the special teams.
After trading the 96th pick in the draft for two picks in round four the Redskins took two players who have notable talent, but when they become full time contributors is still uncertain. To the surprise of many the Skins chose Stanford running back Bryce Love, one year removed from finishing second in the Heisman trophy voting to Baker Mayfield, who is recovering from a torn ACL and likely won’t be at full health until after the start of the season.
To the chagrin of vocal skeptics who for years have grown apoplectic due to years of neglect, the Redskins waited to address the guard position until the 131st pick. Wes Martin, a country strong offensive guard out of Indiana, is 6’3”, 311 lbs and put up 225 lbs on the bench press 38 times. (The number of reps would have placed Martin, a number he has stated was “personally disappointing,” second of all participants at the combine)
Following Martin, the Redskins doubled down and grabbed another interior offensive lineman in Ross Pierschbacher out of Alabama. In four seasons, Ross played all three interior positions, starting three years at guard and his final season at center, is likely a backup early in his career.
The last notable addition to the offense came in the sixth round when the Redskins drafted North Carolina State wide receiver Kelvin Harmon. Harmon produced at the collegiate level and was considered a possible day two selection, but poor combine testing exposed his limitations and pushed Kelvin into the latter half of day three. In time Harmon could turn into a valuable weapon, but relying on a sixth rounder or any of these rookies is foolish because they all need time to develop.
The Redskins received universal praise for their draft and Bruce Allen is promoting the brand on a victory tour. Kyle Smith and the team of scouts deserve praise for their efforts. The work of the scouting department is complete and now the onus is on Jay Gruden and the coaching staff.
The coaching staff has three months to get prepared for training camp. How Gruden intends to utilize the new additions won’t be fully clear until the season is underway, but an earnest assessment of the team reveals the roster is better than it was before the draft but it will be no small feat for Gruden as he attempts to assimilate the six newest additions seamlessly. The expectations for the new members of the offense should be tempered.
Ideally none of the offensive draftees will be relied upon for the 2019 season. Allowing Haskins a year to absorb the offense with no stress would be ideal for his development and Love won’t be fully healthy until midseason. McLaurin could have a solid season, but Gruden shouldn’t trust the rookies to immediately become focal parts of the offense. He is going to have to get creative with many of the same players as last season and allow time for all the new additions to find their own way in the NFL without the undo pressure of trying to save Jay’s coaching career.
The most established group on the roster is the running back position. Adrian Peterson is a future hall-of-famer and ran for 1000 yards last season. Derrius Guice, a second round pick in 2018 returns after missing his rookie season with a torn ACL, showed star potential before the injury. Chris Thompson, one of the best multidimensional weapons in the league, has a defined role and will be a reliable option on third down.
The defense should be markedly improved and looks to be the identity of the team. Landon Collins, the lone major free agent signing, is an established star in the secondary. The defensive front seven now includes Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Reuben Foster, and Montez Sweat. Four first round picks occupy the teeth of a young, aggressive, and potential top ten defensive unit in the league.
Gruden will rely on the three headed rushing attack to keep opposing offenses off the field. Trying to keep the opposition from loading against them in the run game as the offense evolves is enough to keep the stress levels high in Ashburn. Jay has to scheme to the team’s strengths, which means he is going to have to utilize every piece in the run game on offense and control the game with defense until the newcomers are primed to take control of the team.
The NFL is a passing league and spread offenses have become the new norm. Jay must resist fueling the temptation to play pitch and catch with an inexperienced quarterback by slowing the game down and controlling the clock. The three-headed hydra at running back is the best offensive group on the team. Acknowledging the limitations of his offense, Gruden must tame his hubris and rely on the run game even if the Redskins find themselves down early in games.
With an improved roster, expectations should be higher than the 7-9 record they finished with last year when the Redskins were decimated by injuries. Jay Gruden’s ability to handle the difficult sybiosis between a defense ready to win now and a retooled offense with one foot in the future is going to tell us all we need to know about Jay. His future in DC is commands it. Simply put, run the ball and tackle. The formula is as archaic as football itself, but Jay’s scheme will be crucial for success; that is, at least until the talent matures, or else Jay will be gone.